Rafael Moneo receives the 2012 Prince of Asturias Award

Announced today on his 75th birthday, Spanish Architect Rafael Moneo has been named winner of the prestigious Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts – an award bestowed to an individual, institution or group of individuals or institutions whose work in Cinematography, Theatre, Dance, Music, Photography, Painting, Sculpture, Architecture or any other form of artistic expression constitutes a significant contribution to Mankind’s culture heritage. As the 32nd laureate, Rafael Moneo is the fifth architect who has received this award, following Oscar Niemeyer in 1989, Santiago Calatrava in 1999, Franciscco Javier Sáenz de Oíza in 1993 and Lord Foster in 2009. Continue after the break for more.

The minutes of the Prince of Asturias Foundation jury describe Rafael Moneo Vallés as a “Spanish architect of universal scope whose work enriches urban spaces with an architecture that is serene and meticulous. An acknowledged master in both the academic and professional field, Moneo leaves his own mark on each of his creations, at the same time as combining aesthetics with functionality, especially in the airy interiors that act as impeccable settings for great works of culture and the spirit.” Rafael Moneo was awarded the 1996 Pritzker Prize and is known as a leading avant-garde architect who has lectured, taught and practiced internationally. Currently, he lectures and serves as the first Josep Lluis Sert Professor in Architecture at Harvard University. Eight Asturias prizes are awarded each year covering the arts, human rights, sciences and sports. Each winner receives a (EURO)50,000 ($65,000) cash award and a sculpture by Joan Miro. They are presented by Spain’s crown prince each autumn in Oviedo. Photo by Flickr user lunamtra, licensed through Creative Commons.